5 Health Questions To Ask Your Mom

Sunday was Mother’s Day and many were celebrating with cards, calls, flowers and brunch to honor the women in their lives. Yet, how many know the full health history of their mom, grandmother and aunts? This information could prove to be critical when it comes to your own health. Here are five questions to ask the female family members in your life.

1. How was menopause?
This question is important as women tend to follow the other women in their family when it comes to perimenopause and menopausal changes. Do the hot flashes and night sweats start in the 40s or 50s? How long did it take? Was it rough? Was it easy? How did she treat it? Any complications?

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2. Who has had cancer in the family? And at what age?
This applies to both the men and women, however mom tends to know this information. If grandma and the aunts had breast cancer at a younger age, this is more concerning than finding out grandma had it later in life.

3. What are the family trends?
If all the women eventually develop thyroid disease and go on thyroid medication, this helps both you and your health care provider to be extra-diligent and proactive. Does heart disease run in the family?

What about obesity? Fertility problems? Endometriosis? Osteoporosis? Do the women tend to lose their hair as they age? Everyone have their gallbladder? What about digestive or food allergy problems? All of this information is critical for future planning and may shed light into current symptoms.

4. Any outliers in the family?
The second cousin with celiac disease may not strike you as important, however as your gas and bloating worsen, there could be a direct link. The weird uncle whose mood alternates from really happy and hyper to down and depressed may be suffering from undiagnosed bipolar disorder. This can be genetically linked as can depression in the family.

One of the often missed signs of heart disease are heavy and tired legs. Often heavy legs are a sign of peripheral artery disease (PAD)which is blockage in the leg arteries. This can cause heart attack. reverse PAD disease

We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.